1998 Honda Civic - Down But Not Out

We Take Stock And Put Together A Game Plan For This Neglected Civic Hatch.

In many ways, I feel weird publishing anything about this car. Years ago when I first bought my Civic hatch, I (like many car owners) had dreams to someday see my car on the pages of a magazine, but not like this. As you can see, the car isn't exactly in mint condition. The front lip is broken, one of the wheels is bent and the alignment is all off. There are about 10 lbs of flies, bees and mosquitoes stuck to the front end, a residual effect of the 1,000-plus-mile drive south on Interstate 5 from Portland to Los Angeles. In a nutshell, the car has seen better days and now resides in my garage, waiting patiently for its time to shine once again. Before I get ahead of myself, I suppose a little back story is in order.

I bought this car from a gentleman in Portland back in late 2005; he was getting married and the time had come to pass on the project to someone new. Over the next few months, we put the car together in his garage, using a free B16A2 swap, spare parts he had laying around and the assistance of a few helpful friends. We miraculously managed to pass the DMV-required smog check and I finally drove the car home, all smiles and satisfied with my purchase. But right away, I knew I wanted more. I bought some exterior parts, got a few bolt-ons and basically did the honda-tech.com "Stage 1" upgrades. I daily drove the car for awhile, but my commute was less than 10 blocks, so the car sat in the garage for the most part. The most miles that were ever put on the car came from a few road trips to the Bay Area and, ultimately, the long drive from Portland to Los Angeles when I uprooted and moved. The bugs from that trip still speckle the car's front end - a sign of how high a priority it had been in my mind until recently.

It feels good to finally talk about the car. My Civic has been a part of me for a long time, and it has been through a few phases in life - a couple of motors, lots of changes to the exterior and only one set of wheels (to the dismay of many vocal posters on Internet forums). Yet, it never quite got "finished," as they say. As if any project car is ever "finished," right? Regardless, an unfortunate run in with a curb - as a result of me dodging one very lucky canine - hasn't left the car in ruins, but it's certainly in need of some work. Since I no longer daily drive the car, I'm taking the opportunity to fix it up, correct the silly mistakes I made with the previous setup and get my baby looking (and running) better than ever.

The goal here is not a race car. I want a cool-looking, fun-to-drive street car - a car that has some stuff you don't see every day. I want a car that I can take to the track on occasion, but won't feel out of place or uncomfortable driving on the city streets. The first phase of the rebuild will include repairing body and suspension damage, getting a proper alignment, as well as a proper set of dry-weather street tires. Stay tuned as the gears begin to turn and my baby comes back to life!

Most concept car drives take place in the smooth safety of a secluded proving ground or a closed racetrack but we drive the hand-finished Audi E-Tron GT concept on the cratered streets of downtown L.A.

Read the story of Jonathan Tanguay and his 1998 Honda Civic CX. Powered by a GS-R-swap, and dressed up with some Volk CE28N wheels, and a number of OEM EK9 interior and exterior pieces, Jonathan's Civic is the perfect example of what one can accomplish if they stay dedicated to their dreams.

The car that graces these pages is the result of a lot of time and energy. Especially when you consider how many changes have been made—some more than once. Click to read about Mickey Marroquin's 1998 Honda Civic hatchback. - Honda Tuning Magazine

Over the course of my Civic’s transformation, one of the things that I left to the end was the suspension department. Click to see how the KW Variant 3 coilovers affect our track built 1998 Honda Civic Project Civic. - Modified Magazine

Motorsport is a dangerous activity, and although none of the equipment I have installed is cheap, you get what you pay for. In this edition of The Road to Super Lap, Sean instals a plethora of safety parts in his 1996 Honda Civic Hatchback. - Super Street Magazine

There’s a reason this EK hatch is in our magazine and it’s not because of a lime green rollcage. Not squandering money on rare or flashy parts, he’s developed an all-around car tailored for the track. Keep reading about this track ready 1998 Honda Civic DX. - Super Street Magazine